Just Me Again
by GlassAngel
Summary: DG's left feeling guilty after a fight with Cain. She knows he's trying to keep her safe, but she just wants to go outside...
1. Just Me Again

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tin Man, even though I wish I did.**

"What do you mean, I can't go out in the city? I'll go wherever I want to go!" DG's eyes flared to an even brighter blue than usual. Her sister and Glitch, who were occupying the loveseat against the far wall, recognized it and knew the younger princess wouldn't give up until she had her way.

"There's been rumors for weeks of a group in the city that supported the Witch, you know that." Cain's stubborn expression matched DG's, and his voice held a steely undertone that proved he wouldn't back down one bit. "I can't let you go into the city until the police catch all of its members. They already assassinated Lord Becklie for being the first to reaffirm fealty to the Gales."

Azkadellia rubbed her forehead, wishing the pressure of her fingers would alleviate her headache. Glitch saw what she was doing and patted her other hand sympathetically, sending a lopsided smile in her direction.

"But I have a truckload of guards to protect me! That's their job. They already scare the pants off anyone who tries to come near me, so I'll be fine."

"If this group wants you dead, they won't stop because your guards glared at them," Cain deadpanned. "They'll try to find a way around your guards, and I don't want to risk seeing if they succeed."

"You want me to stay cooped up in the castle, don't you?" DG accused, stepping closer and stabbing a finger in his direction. "You haven't let me outside the palace in more than a month."

Cain snorted. "Don't flatter yourself, princess. I don't have any plans other than your safety. If you want to wander in the city while it's still unsafe, you're gonna have to remove me from your security."

For the time since they'd started arguing, DG's face became blank. "Fine," she said shortly. "Maybe I will."

She turned and left the room. Only Glitch and Azkadellia saw the brief look of betrayal on Cain's face before he, too, left.

*****

DG stretched out further on her bed, trying to see if she could reach the foot of it when fully extended. She felt bad about what had happened a few hours earlier, so she'd been doing all matter of things to take her mind off her guilt. So far, nothing worked for more than fifteen minutes.

Cain sure knew how to push her buttons, she reflected, spinning so her head was at the foot of the bed. But it wasn't her fault she wanted to get out of the palace, was it? The only sunshine she'd had in weeks was from the interior courtyard. No small square of flowerbeds and hedges could make up for wandering around outside.

Yes, it was entirely normal to resist staying indoors for such a long period of time. DG had been raised on a farm in wide-open Kansas, so here she felt confined and constricted. If they were at Finaqua or one of the other, more rural palaces, she might be able to explore the maze or the grounds. Here at the Central City palace, all she had were stone passageways that let in no natural light. Still, it didn't justify what she'd said—

Damn! DG punched her pillow, frustrated. There she was, back to feeling guilty. No way she would ever be able to sleep like this…

DG checked the clock on her bedside table. Was fifteen minutes to midnight too late to see someone? Probably, but she needed to fix this tonight if possible.

Sighing, she heaved herself off her bed and began searching for her sneakers.

*****

DG rocked back and forth on her heels in front of Cain's door, waiting for a response to her knock. To be honest, she had no idea what she wanted to say, just that she wanted to leave with things all right between her and Cain.

The door flew open, possible due to being kicked, revealing Cain. He was squinting at the light from the hall and had his shirt in one hand. _Well, that's not gonna help any._

"Whatever this is, soldier, it better be good," he mumbled dazedly. Then he blinked and looked at who was at the door. "Sorry, princess, didn't see you there. I thought it was one of the guards."

"No, it's just me again," DG said quietly. "Can we talk?"

Cain responded by stepping back so she could enter, his head tilting slightly as it would if he was wearing his hat. DG slipped in and took a seat on one of the couches in the small sitting room.

"Listen, I'm sorry I came this late—"

"Don't worry yourself about it. Did you get the paperwork together?"

DG blinked, not following his meaning. "Excuse me?"

"The paperwork for my removal as head of your security," Cain clarified. "I'll sign it and be on my way by morning, assuming you picked a good replacement."

"No! I'm not replacing you," DG said fiercely. "I'd never replace you. I was mad when I said it, and I didn't mean it."

"Oh. Well, then." Cain shrugged into his shirt. "What did you come here for this late, kid?"

DG took a deep breath as she tried to gather her thoughts, relieved to hear the nickname. "I came to say I'm really sorry. I'm sorry I got mad and I'm sorry I yelled at you and I'm sorry I said—"

"Slow down, DG," Cain ordered, looking mildly alarmed. He took a seat next to her on the couch. "Apology accepted if you breathe."

She did so, but he kept a wary eye on her like he had to convince himself she wasn't about to go off on another rant. Finally, Cain asked, "So that's all you came to tell me?"

DG stood up abruptly. "Yes, it is! Sorry if you don't think it's important enough to interrupt your precious beauty rest, but I didn't want to leave it 'til morning because then I'd _never_ be able to admit I was wrong!"

"Relax, kid." Cain stood and pulled her towards him. DG rested her head on his chest and clutched his still-unbuttoned shirt with both hands. "I didn't mean it like that, okay? I just figured this might be a good time for you to get some things off our chest. You've been awfully quiet lately."

"Have I? I guess that's fairly normal, though, considering I turned into a princess two months ago." DG forced a smile, knowing she might start crying from stress if she didn't. "It's hard to remember after fifteen years on the Other Side. Though I don't think Mom was stuffing suitors down my throat when I was here before."

Cain winced at her phrasing. "Those boys are a security nightmare. They're making my job ten times harder when I have to sort through who to help you avoid."

DG laughed, and unlike her smile it was genuine. " Yeah, you've been a real knight in shining armor there, saving me from the big nasty monsters," she teased. Then she paused, as if considering something. "Scratch the armor, actually."

"Why's that?" Cain asked, amused. At least she seemed to be feeling better.

"Well, armor would probably feel too much like a tin suit to you, so…" She trailed off.

Cain's arms unconsciously tightened around DG a little, bringing her closer. "Thanks for thinking of that. Wouldn't want to get stuck in there again."

"You won't." He looked at her, surprised, and she met his gaze straight on. "It's over, remember? You don't have to worry about Zero coming around to put you back in the suit."

Cain sighed. "I know. It's hard to remember it's over sometimes."

"Well, it is over. You even got your heart back, from the sound of things." DG smiled at him, placing her hand over the area where his heart now beat.

"Yeah," he murmured thickly, resting his head on top of hers. "Yeah, I guess I did."

*****

**Hey, thanks for reading! This is my first posted Tin Man fanfic, so I'd love some feedback. Anyway, this was supposed to be a oneshot with this as the only chapter, but Cain HAD to go and say something that my muse found interesting, so this is gonna be a few chapters when it's done. Next bit coming soon…**

**~ange**


	2. Resistance

**Disclaimer: *checks* Nope, still don't own Tin Man. Still wish I did, though.**

Cain's first thought on waking up the next morning was that it felt nice to wake up after sunrise. His second thought was that it was _after sunrise_.

He vaulted out of bed and dressed hurriedly, not taking the time to shave before running down to the kitchens. Maybe he could grab an apple on the way to his office…?

Thirty minutes later, Cain threw the remnants of his breakfast towards his trash bin. The core wobbled when it touched the rim and fell on the wrong side. Cain sighed and leaned over to pluck the core from the ground and drop it in the trash. When he straightened and sat up in his chair, he saw the three men in the doorway.

Cain's third thought was that it looked like it was going to be a lousy day.

*****

Azkadellia's eyebrows arched in surprise when her sister ambled into the dining room. Not only had DG arrived later than usual for breakfast, she looked happier than she had in weeks.

Apparently Glitch noticed as well. "Good morning!" he greeted cheerfully when she sat down. "I was wondering if you were coming down—it's after nine already."

DG ducked her head in embarrassment as she put a napkin in her lap. "I know. It took me a while to fall asleep last night, so I ended up sleeping late," she confessed. "Did I miss Mom and Dad?"

"Only just," Azkadellia replied, adding some pepper to her eggs. DG had introduced her to scrambled eggs only two weeks ago, when her and Cain—

It clicked in Azkadellia's mind that there lay the wrongness in DG's demeanor. After a fight with someone like the one she'd had with Cain the day before, DG was almost always moody, but she seemed happy enough now. In fact, she was glowing.

"Have you spoken with Mr. Cain since yesterday, Deej?" Azkadellia asked, careful not to seem too interested.

"Yeah, last night," DG confirmed, and started to butter her toast. "Feeding your addiction, Az?" She pointed to the plate of eggs.

Azkadellia felt an overwhelming urge to conceal her plate but continued to press for information instead. "So you two aren't fighting anymore?" _For now_ was the unspoken addition to the end of the question.

"Not any more. We made up."

"Did they remember what comes before making up?" Glitch muttered, earning a mild glare from Azkadellia. His apologetic crooked smile made it soften considerably, however.

"What was that, Glitch?" DG asked, oblivious to the exchange between her sister and the advisor.

Glitch's eyes brightened and he suddenly stood from his chair, snapping his arm into the air with a flourish. "Eggs!" he declared, as though the statement was obvious. "I may have a breakthrough for my new agricultural invention if I merely add some thiol compounds…Call me to dinner when it's on the table!" He zigzagged away to his lab.

Azkadellia shook her head. No wonder half the castle believed Glitch truly was a mad scientist.

If only they knew what a good actor he was…

*****

Hours later, Glitch found DG reading a book in the courtyard located in the center of the palace. "May I sit?" he asked as he approached.

DG patted the seat next to her on the bench, smiling. "Of course, Glitch. I thought you were going to be busy until dinner, though." Her response implied a question.

Glitch flushed. "Yes, well—um…it didn't work," he mumbled quickly, as though trying to be done with his admittance of failure. "All I did was make the lower floor smell like rotten eggs."

DG grimaced sympathetically, looping her arm through his. "Bad luck, I guess. It was a good idea."

"Uh-oh," Glitch warned with a sigh. "Your shadow's back, and he doesn't look happy."

When DG saw who Glitch was referring to, she had to disagree. Cain looked far beyond 'not happy'—actually, he looked downright pissed.

"Both of you are coming with me to the queen's office," he declared flatly as he rounded the final hedge separating him from the bench. He had a no-nonsense expression on and his tone said he clearly expected them to do as he said. As such, Glitch stood immediately.

DG, however, remained seated and gave him nonsense. Glaring resentfully at the Tin Man, she asked, "Who shoved a stick up your ass today?"

Cain glared right back. "Cute, princess. Come with me _now_."

Sighing, she got up and followed him to her mother's office, grumbling, "Or what, you'll lock me up and throw me in the dungeon? I don't think that would go over too well." Walking behind him as she was, DG couldn't see how his lips twitched when he heard what she'd said.

The guard stationed in front of her mother's door must have been expecting them, because he let them in as soon as they entered the small waiting area. The three filed into the queen's office, which also served as a smaller version of the audience chamber.

Queen Lavender was carefully examining several documents spread over her desk when DG passed through the door. DG smiled at her mother, while Glitch and Cain bowed.

"Please, sit," Lavender suggested, gesturing to the chairs facing her desk. Glitch sat down compliantly, but DG noticed Cain's discomfort at being required to sit. If the queen said so, he'd do it, but DG knew he would rather stand, especially in stressful circumstances. After a long moment of hesitation, Cain finally took one of the chairs.

_Comfy cushions,_ DG found herself thinking in surprise. The chairs looked deceptively uncomfortable. _Maybe I'll have to visit Mom at work more often._

"Mr. Cain, would you explain the details of the situation? All I know is that it pertains to my daughters' safety." Lavender's kind eyes invited him to speak, but they held a hint of worry at the unknown trouble.

DG looked from person to person, frowning. If there was a threat to her and Az, why hadn't anyone told her yet? And where was Az? She asked as much to her mother, but Glitch was the one who responded.

"Azkadellia said she prefers not to hear about it right now," Glitch said quietly. "She overheard some of the basics, and I don't think she was feeling too well afterwards. Cain?"

"Your Majesty, Your Highness," Cain began, tilting his head respectfully to each in turn. "This morning I got a report that's there's gonna be an attempt to kidnap both princesses for different reasons. It's the same group that shot Lord Becklie, and apparently they think the Witch had nothing to do with Princess Azkadellia's reign. They want to get her to coordinate the Longcoats and take back control of the O.Z."

"What do they want with me, then, if they just want to restore Az to the throne as Sorceress?" DG tried not to sound plaintive. She already knew these people were dangerous, and hearing their plans wasn't exactly comforting. At least it explained why Azkadellia didn't feel good. She was trying to distance herself from the painful memories of her possession as much as she could, so this couldn't be helping.

Cain wouldn't meet her eyes; instead, he opted for looking at the queen's desk. "They see you only as the girl who brought Princess Azkadellia back to the side of the Light. From what I've heard, they want to capture you, though they're not too concerned if you get killed while they're trying to catch you."

"Well, that's just great," DG said dryly, trying to sound like it didn't bother her much. Just another irritation, right? "I'm having flashbacks to when the Witch had me locked up. Wonder why."

"It won't be like the Witch's prison if they catch you," Cain said grimly. "You weren't in there for long, and she needed you alive for information. These people plan on keeping you for as long as it takes, but they won't care if you get sick in there."

She stared blankly at him, blue eyes wider than he'd ever seen them, trying to imagine what he was saying. "Sorry, kiddo," he found himself saying. His eyes were sad as he held her gaze.

Feeling faintly ill, DG ignored the rules of politeness and drew her knees to her chest, not caring that her sneakers now rested on the cushion. She put her head between her knees and closed her eyes, counting slowly to regulate her breathing. No way she was gonna hyperventilate here, even if the prospects before her seemed scary.

"Who's been assigned the task of finding this group?" The queen's voice stayed quiet as usual, but her eyes remained worriedly fixed on Cain.

He cleared his throat, seeming uncomfortable with the weight of his monarch's gaze. "The Central City Police Commissioner's in charge, but he's coordinating with the head of palace security and the army generals not involved with fighting Longcoats right now. As heads of the princesses' security, Sergeant Rapp and I are also part of it, but our focus is keeping them safer than we usually do."

"There are eight thousand soldiers currently fighting the Longcoats for the army, aren't there?" Queen Lavender frowned as she tried to remember. "General Perkan told me last week, but I'm not positive that's the exact number."

"It is, Your Majesty," Glitch answered promptly.

Cain shot a mild glare at the advisor before adding, "The other three thousand are helping the CCP and our security search the city as we speak."

Someone knocked on the door, and Queen Lavender called for them to come in. The guard poked his head through and said, "Your Majesty, terribly sorry to disturb you, but there's a messenger here for Mr. Cain. He says there's an important meeting in his office due to start soon."

"Dammit," Cain muttered under his breath. To the queen, he asked, "May I be excused, Your Majesty? General Perkan and Commissioner Engle should be here to plan further. I can give you more information after we talk."

Lavender nodded, the faint amusement in her expression hinting she might have heard his first comment. "Of course. Would you return here when you finish the meeting?"

Cain bowed deeply when he stood. "I will, Your Majesty. Oh—you should probably know. This group is calling themselves the Resistance. Apparently they think they have to take over that title, now the Gale family's back on the throne and the original Resistance is disbanded." He turned and strode off, following the messenger-boy in the waiting area.

Speaking for the first time since the details about the new Resistance, DG addressed her mother. "You think they'll catch these people, Mom?"

Lavender granted her daughter a radiant smile. "Of course they will, my angel. That's what the police do best." _I only hope they catch them in time._

*****

**I have to say, I didn't expect such lovely reviews! To everyone who reviewed, thanks muchly, because they made my day. :) And for those who were wondering, the thing Cain said to kick-start the rest of the chapters was his comment in the beginning of the first chapter about this group generally being nasty towards the Gales.**

**Lots of set-up in this one, I know, but hey, I'm on spring break! Which means the next chapter will probably pop up on here in the next few days. (I really should do my projects, but in a contest between Tin Man and homework, we all know who's gonna win.) And now this AN is getting to be the length of this whole chapter, so I'll stop there.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~ange**


	3. At Any Cost

**Here you are! Enjoy :)**

"Az?"

Her sister's voice broke Azkadellia out of her daze. "Deej?" she asked uncertainly, sitting up on her bed. She'd been lying there in a near-catatonic state for about an hour now, if the position of the suns meant anything. "Where are you?"

"At the door, silly. Let me in, will you?"

Azkadellia crept over to the door but hesitated in opening it. She was sure she looked a mess. "I don't know, Deej…"

"Come on, I don't bite." When that garnered no response, DG said, "Please, Az?"

Reluctantly, Azkadellia opened the door. As soon as she was inside, DG pulled Azkadellia into a tight hug. "Why're you so upset? Tell me about it," DG prompted gently, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Azkadellia began pacing the length of her room, sending concerned glances in her sister's direction on occasion. "I can't deal with this, DG. The Witch did so many horrible things to so many people using my face, my hands…these people want to force me into a position where I'm doing the same things, except it's me this time. Me, not the Witch."

DG grabbed Azkadellia's arm as she passed by again. "Az, you're forgetting something. The guards, the police…heck, even I won't let that happen. We know how much it upsets you, and everyone's under orders to keep you super-safe so that doesn't happen, okay?"

"Okay," Azkadellia whispered, hugging DG. "I believe you."

DG had a sick feeling in her stomach regardless, and felt glad she hadn't promised her sister she'd be safe.

*****

Cain wished he had his hat, if only to hide his face from recognition by the various military people running about. But no, courtesy dictated he go hatless when dealing with the general and commissioner.

He didn't understand that at all. He was part of palace security, a branch not under the power of either the Central City Police or the Royal Army. It wasn't as though he was a subordinate of Perkan or Engle, where respect required him to leave his head bare.

Cain realized then that he was disgruntled over not being able to wear a hat. Highly unlike him, that. Must be the stress of the situation.

Swearing under his breath at the frivolity of his thoughts, he swung around the corner, trying to find a place in the palace where the army wouldn't find him.

*****

DG now occupied the alcove he'd intended to sit in. She'd taken a liking to the place and installed a window-seat and cushions, much to the chagrin of the palace staff, who attempted to build it themselves. Apparently the view was better here than from her room, and it was private enough nobody cared if she altered it.

Once Cain saw she was there, he tried to walk away to leave her in whatever thoughts currently held her, but she noticed him and asked him to sit. It wasn't an order, merely a request, but he felt compelled to stay anyway.

He sat the way the bench was supposed to be sat on, not sideways and leaning against the wall like DG. "What've you been up to?" Cain asked when DG didn't say anything for a few minutes. Sure, the silence wasn't awkward, unlike most of his paltry attempts at conversation, but given the lost expression on DG's face he didn't feel she should be alone in her thoughts for too long.

As it was, she must've already been lost. "Huh?" she asked blankly, turning towards him. He repeated himself, and she shook her head. "Nothing much. I visited Az today, and she's not doing too well. Glitch is with her now," she informed him.

Cain nodded. "Well, it's good someone's with her. How are you holding up?"

He almost didn't need to ask; he could see the stress clearly imprinted on her expression. She shrugged in response. "I don't know. I'd say I'm doing good, but I'm not sure there's anything to compare it to. When was the last time someone was threatened by people who want to kill them and make their sister a dictator?"

Cain let out a low chuckle. DG certainly had a knack for phrasing, he'd give her that. "I wouldn't worry much about it. I'm not telling you to not worry—it's not human—but too much is unhealthy."

DG looked disbelievingly at him, her expression suggesting he might be the slightest bit crazy. "You're serious? Here the army and the police are worried and you're telling me to lay off worrying a bit? Not gonna happen."

"It's our job to do that, not yours. We're supposed to deal with everything, so worrying is just one part of it."

"'Our' job?" DG raised her eyebrows. "You're worried, too? Oh boy."

"Only a little." Normally Cain wouldn't admit to being worried at all, but with DG it was alright. "But listen—they'll have to go through me to get to you, and I don't go down easy. Unless something goes really wrong, nobody will be able to even get close to you." He tried to reassure her with a smile but found her biting her lip.

"That's what bothers me." DG's eyes had a distant look as she fixed them on Cain. "If something _did_ go really wrong, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you, even if you were protecting me."

Cain sighed and knelt in front of her so they were at eye level. DG swung her legs over the seat to face him. "Listen, DG, I want you to be safe. Whether it's as your friend, your guard, or just someone from the O.Z. who loves his princess—take your pick. Point is, I'll protect you at any cost, but I certainly hope I don't get hurt too bad. I know you hurt when your friends hurt."

"Yeah." DG made an attempt at laughing a little to lighten her words, but the sound came out strangled instead. "Glitch and Raw don't make a habit of going off and risking their lives for random reasons, though. Well, except when we charged the tower that one time, but that doesn't really count. Anyway, you're the only one I have to worry about."

"You're not a random reason, DG." Cain reached out to settle his hands on either side of her face, one thumb brushing over her cheek. "I hope you know that."

When he noticed DG's breath catch in her throat, he moved his face slightly closer, eyes flicking up to hers as if asking for permission. At the definite yes he saw there, Cain closed the gap and kissed DG. It occurred to him there might be some rule against this, considering she was a princess, but he shoved the notion away.

Without thinking, DG's arms twined around his neck, making sure he wouldn't run away. She had been hoping for this since the end of the Eclipse, and she wasn't going to let him ruin it.

"Mr. Cain?" someone called from down the hallway, footsteps indicating the man was coming towards them. DG's hands went to Cain's wrists as soon as he turned to look at the hall in alarm, and she tugged him to sit on the bench beside her. When Perkan's assistant arrived, both were sitting calmly on the window-seat.

"Does the general need me again?" Cain asked, telling himself to not sound disappointed. It worked.

"No, sir, but the queen does. General Perkan sent me to get you because the queen asked you, him, and Commissioner Engle to meet with her in her office. Oh—hello, Your Highness." The assistant, a pale man named Larcke, wrung his hands together frantically, made nervous by not noticing the princess there.

"Hello," DG responded quietly. "I don't suppose I can come?" She looked up at Cain, who stood and offered her a hand up.

"Not to this one, Your Highness," he answered, pulling a face at having to use the title in front of others. DG barely restrained a smirk at his discomfort. "Once we're done I think the general and the commissioner and I might need to talk with you and your sister, though."

"Excuse me—" Larcke quailed under Cain's glare at being interrupted. "General Perkan told me to ask if you would like help finding the conference room he's been given for the time being? He's meeting with the commissioner and palace security there before going to see the queen."

Cain raised his eyebrows. "I'm the one who works here and you're asking me if I need help finding the conference room? I'll manage. Tell the general I'm on my way."

Bobbing his head up and down in an anxious nod, Larcke bowed to DG and practically ran off. "Did you have to scare him so badly?" DG asked once he had gone.

Cain gave her a crooked smile and shrugged. "Did I?"

DG rolled her eyes. "Just because you're good at playing scary doesn't mean you have to do it to everyone. Come on, I'll go with you to that conference room. It's the one on the fifth floor, right?"

"Yeah." Cain didn't protest when DG took hold of his hand, noting he liked the feel of her small hand in his. They stayed like that the whole way to the conference room.

*****

**Finally--some DG/Cain! That was hard to write, since I haven't written any scenes remotely resembling fluff in about a year, and I've never done one for Tin Man. For some reason, I had a feeling Cain would've objected to some of the usual things...**

**Cain: *glares***

**...Yeah. Next chapter is the dreaded meeting with the queen et al, which will swing back to the serious side (mostly) and end up with some action towards the end! (I think. Unless it's in the beginning of the chapter after that.) ;) Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**~ange**


	4. Melting Floors

**Disclaimer: I need to address this problem of me not owning Tin Man. For the time being, though, it's still not mine.**

* * *

"Are we even allowed to do this? I don't think they want us to hear them."

"What makes you think that?"

"The fact that they locked us out of the meeting, for one."

DG turned around, hand on her hip, and fixed her sister with a quizzical look. "Really? I thought we were just late, and they'd already locked everyone else out once we got there."

Azkadellia sighed. "Here, let me undo the lock. Tutor hasn't taught you how to do that yet, has he?"

"No, he hasn't," DG muttered mutinously. "He says I'll use it for the wrong purposes. Which is exactly what you're doing," she pointed out as Az's magic filled the keyhole, making it glow with white light. After a few seconds, the light faded, and Azkadellia turned the door handle.

"Yes, it is. Your influence has corrupted me." Azkadellia sat primly on a mildly dusty stool. Servants came through and cleaned all the locked storage rooms every once in a while, and it looked like 'once in a while' had happened recently. "What are you planning to do, little sister?"

"This." DG held her hand out in front of her, parallel to the floor, and flexed her fingers. Soft white light accumulated in her palm, and when she moved her hand in a wide arc, the image of the conference directly below replaced that of the floorboards.

Azkadellia's eyes widened. "Deej, did you just melt the floor away?"

"Nope. I just made it a one-way mirror. Ready for sound?" DG raised her hand again, and when Azkadellia nodded, she let the light flow over the view of the conference.

"—can't believe you didn't tell us right away!" That was Cain, glaring furiously at an older man DG recognized from somewhere. A sudden memory of him laughing nervously at one of her jokes came to mind, which meant it was Commissioner Engle.

"We needed time to investigate the validity of the claim." Surprisingly, Engle remained calm while defending himself.

"And what's your decision?"

"The claim turned out to be valid. We're pursuing the matter along with the army's cooperation."

"Gentlemen." The queen's voice cut across the argument smoothly so she didn't interrupt anyone. DG knew she could never be as good as her mother at defusing feuding men or soothing hurt prides. "We have the same goal, and arguing will do nothing to aid in achieving it. Now, Commissioner, have you managed to identify the noble involved yet?"

"Not yet, Your Majesty, but as long as he's not a professional at this—and we don't think he is—we should have him within a matter of days."

Lavender smiled at Commissioner Engle. "Thank you, Commissioner. I'm sure nobody can argue with that. Mr. Cain, have you spoken to the others in palace security?"

"I have, Your Majesty. We've found nearly a dozen possible entrances to the palace, if someone was determined enough. Under normal circumstances they wouldn't be a problem, but they are now." Cain looked displeased, but that wasn't surprising. Security issues, no matter how small, always upset him. The bigger the problem, the more of a mood he was in afterwards.

"What would you recommend to deal with these problems, Mr. Cain?" Lavender's tone showed she understood the gravity of those problems, and DG again felt grateful her mother was so good with understanding politics and security issues. Apparently all those years in the Witch's prison hadn't dulled her capabilities as a ruler.

"I'd say we should get the royal family out, just in case," Cain told her, meeting the queen's eyes. "I have some people guarding and repairing the problem spots, but it's risky to have you in an unsecure palace. If you could go somewhere else, I would feel a lot better about the safety of you and your family."

The queen considered Cain's suggestion for a minute, then said, "I myself have no objections, but I must speak with Ahamo first. If he is agreeable, then I will talk to Azkadellia and DG to see what they think." A note of humor, nearly undetectable, crept into her voice. "I'm sure they would have no way of otherwise knowing."

DG gaped at Azkadellia, who looked equally shocked. _Not cool_, DG mouthed, and Azkadellia nodded vigorously in agreement.

She waved her hand over the image before her, making it slowly fade away until there was nothing but wooden floors at their feet. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, trying to absorb and understand the conversation. The situation must be pretty bad—and the threat very high—for their mother to consider moving to another palace for a while. She had insisted on taking up residence in the Central City palace again in order to assure the O.Z. that the Gales were there and would be part of the healing process.

Finally, Azkadellia said, "Let's leave, DG. You don't want Mother to catch us up here, do you?"

"Yeah, good idea," DG said distractedly, stumbling as she stood.

Azkadellia caught her by the arm. "Be careful, Deej. And it'll be okay. Everything will work out, so don't worry."

"Where would we go? Finaqua?" That was the only place where safety-influenced exile would be bearable. Staying at Finaqua for a while with her family might not be so bad.

"I don't know, but we can ask Mother later, if Daddy agrees to it. Do you think he will?" Azkadellia led DG out into the hall, heading for her room.

DG sighed. "I bet he will. He really wants to keep us safe."

They halted in front of the library. "Actually, I think I'm going to read a book. Want to join me?"

"Nah, you can have all the elvish history to yourself," DG returned lightly. "I'm going to find Glitch. Do you know if he's in his lab?"

A faint pink tinge spread over Azkadellia's face. "He was there earlier, yes. I don't know if he's there now."

DG considered her sister for a moment. "Okay, here's a deal: you get to read now, I get to grill you later. Sound good?"

Az muttered something unintelligible and likely uncharitable, and DG laughed and left to find Glitch.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, dollface! What brings you 'round here?" Glitch flashed a charming grin at DG as she came through the door.

"I needed to get away from all this mess." DG waved her hand around in a motion that encompassed all the maneuverings going on upstairs. "What are you working on?"

"My last idea was a no-go, so I thought I might try modifying an already-existent machine. Problem is, I don't have the magic necessary for working it."

"Glitch, you've been holding out on me! Why didn't you tell me you needed help with—well, what are you doing with it?" The machine before her, a brass-and-glass tank about twice the size of a gallon of milk, looked familiar, but DG couldn't place where she'd seen it before.

"This is the original version of the machine. I'm sure you saw the larger size the Witch used for seeing and storing things." Glitch's voice was uncharacteristically grim, and DG knew he was thinking of the other half of his brain, now restored to its proper location.

"Yeah, I have." DG looped her arm through Glitch's, hoping to offer some reassurance through human contact. She knew he'd been alone for a long time because people were judgmental towards headcases.

"I thought I'd try to get it to be able to show memories from—well…"

"From who, Glitch?"

The inventor shifted from one foot to another in the way that reminded DG of an oversized bird. "From dead people."

"Dead people? Anyone in particular, or are you just going a little Haley Joel Osment?" DG teased. She knew if anyone could make the machine work like that, though, it would be Glitch.

Glitch shook his head. "No, you said you wanted to get away from the craziness upstairs."

DG was too curious by then to care. "Who? I've changed my mind about what I said before."

"Lord Becklie."

The name caught her off-guard. "His funeral was over a week ago, Glitch. How do you expect to access his memories if he's already buried?"

He pointed one long finger at a dark blue glass jar on the other side of the workbench. "His parents gave us permission to keep some hair and other items with his essence so I can try to extract some memories. I turned it into a potion of sorts, both for storage purposes and because there were some fluids—blood and saliva and sweat, mostly."

DG wrinkled her nose. "Great. Becklie soup. Can't you pour some into the tank, turn it on, and have me or Az zap it with some magic?"

"That's basically what I'm going to try to format it for. I just have to alter the energy flow in some of the wires…"

Which was about where he lost DG. Glitch began prattling on about certain currents and how they absolutely would not work with some parts of the machine due to the gradient. It almost made her glad when a young Royal Guardsman came to fetch her.

"Excuse me, Your Highness? Her Majesty would like you to join her and the Lord Consort in her office. I was sent to escort you there."

DG sighed. "Okay. Bye, Glitch."

"Actually, Her Majesty would like Sir Ambrose to come as well, if he can spare time away from his work," the guardsman interjected.

"Sure," Glitch said agreeably. "I could use a break. Anyway, I might need your help with the magic bit, DG."

"Yeah, I'll see if I can help after we're done with this," DG replied, following the guardsman up the stairs leading out of the laboratory. Glitch trailed behind, whistling.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You're sending me to Finaqua _alone_?"

"You won't be entirely alone," Lavender soothed, trying to calm her enraged daughter. "Mr. Cain and some additional guards will go with you for security."

"But Az won't be there, and neither will you or Daddy or Glitch or Raw or Toto! How long do you expect me to stay sane like that?"

"Your father and I must remain in Central City, and Azkadellia will go with Glitch and Tutor to another, smaller palace. Raw hasn't yet returned from his visit to the Viewers." The queen's voice was reasonable, but DG was far beyond being able to see reason. She crossed her arms and slumped a little further down in her chair.

"Is this the best plan you've got?" she finally asked.

"Yeah. Finaqua's the safest place for you to be right now," Cain said from over in the corner. "I had some palace guards with nothing better to do check it over, and it's safer than here."

"Because the primary focus of this resistance group is to capture you, we've decided you should be placed in the safest area. It's virtually impossible to enter, especially for those with hostile intentions," Lavender explained. "Will you go?"

"Fine, I'll go if you really want me to," DG grumbled. "When are we leaving?"

"Mr. Cain?"

"Tomorrow night would be nice," Cain said, shrugging. "As long as you're able to leave then. Depends on whether we're able to get out of the city easily enough."

DG stood from the chair. "Okay, then. I'll go pack."

* * *

**Yeah, the action-y bit will be at the beginning of next chapter. Sorry for the long wait, but...*drumroll* I'm finally done with AP tests! Hallelujah, I have my life back. Technically I'm supposed to be doing a health essay right now, but it's health. Do I care? No.**

**Yeah, about the chapter title...I dunno. It just kinda came out. It was either that or 'Becklie Soup.' XD**

**Reviewers will be loved forever! Thanks for reading, especially after I waited so long to post this chapter.**

**~ange**


	5. Without Light

**Disclaimer: Sheesh, I don't own Tin Man. Stop rubbing it in.**

******Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait-real life intruded. How rude. Anyway, here's the promised action!**

* * *

DG's head rolled back on her shoulders for only a second before she sat back up straight, blinking her eyes rapidly and mumbling under her breath.

"You awake, princess?" Cain asked, looking far too amused.

"Shut up," she grumbled. "When you said we were leaving tomorrow night, I thought you meant we were leaving once it got dark and I'd be able to sleep the afternoon beforehand. I wasn't expecting us to keep doing all day and night and _then_ leave dark and early."

"It's the safest way to leave Central City without being noticed" was all Cain said.

"I know, but I wish I could've gotten some sleep before we left," DG remarked, sighing.

She heard Cain's horse draw up beside hers, and he gently bumped her leg with his own. "It's not too far to Finaqua. You can sleep there, I promise."

DG refrained from responding. It had occurred to her that since the guards they had brought with them were assigned to posts outside the castle or within its corridors, she would have a lot of free time with Cain. Not an altogether unpleasant prospect, especially if she could convince him to stop bodyguarding her for at least some of the time.

"When are we stopping for breakfast?" DG asked, breaking out of her line of thought. Best to do so before she started to blush.

Cain glanced at her in surprise, but answered, "Once it gets light we'll get the food out. Arwen has it all in his packs."

The first sun rose two hours later, and Cain kept their party moving for half an hour beyond that before he let them stop and dismount. Arwen unstrapped the bundles of food from the mule he led and distributed one to each person. They ate quickly, everyone standing after hours on horseback, and were finished as the second sun began rising in the sky.

"Read to leave, sweetheart?" Cain asked quietly, coming up from behind.

DG reached out a squeezed his hand. "I'm ready," she said, smiling. "I'm a little more awake now. And breakfast always helps."

"Well, no more stops until dinner. Need some help up?"

DG doubtfully at her gelding and nodded, remembering the fence rail she'd used that morning. She put one foot in Cain's cupped hands and, as he tossed her higher to throw a leg over the saddle, she caught a glimpse of sun glinting off metal through a thin stand of trees. Curious, she situated herself in the saddle and hooked her shoes firmly in the stirrups before sending out an experimental thread of magic like Toto had taught her.

Hoarse screams for help ricocheted through her skull, along with an image of a bearded, emaciated man on his knees. A rusted tin suit overlaid everything, flashing so brightly it blocked her vision.

"There's someone in there!" DG told Cain frantically, already dismounting.

Seeing that she was about to run off, Cain grabbed DG around the waist, restraining her arms so she couldn't flail out. "In where, DG?" His voice was gently, but he immediately began scanning the woods around them for potential attackers.

Tears crawled down DG's face unconsciously, both from the pain in her head and the pain she'd felt stored in the images themselves. "There's a suit past those trees," she said, trying to point but failing because of Cain's grip. "I don't know how the army missed this one when they unlocked all the suits, but someone's inside of this one!"

"Arwen, Marple, go check it out," Cain ordered. "DG, calm down. We'll get him out, but I want to keep moving so he doesn't tell everyone he saw the princess in the forest once he gets back to Central City. Let's go, okay?"

A crack of gunfire came from where the two guards had disappeared to, and Cain wasted no time in vaulting into the gelding's saddle and pulling DG up in front of him. The horse set off at a canter and almost instantly transitioned into a jerky gallop, but someone leapt down on top of them and pulled both to the ground. The three of them rolled as they hit the damp leaf litter, but a group of five other men quickly stopped them and restrained both Cain and DG.

As they began tying her wrists together, DG aimed a kick at one of the attackers, hoping to hit somewhere that would hurt, and soon found her legs tied with rope. She shouted for Cain, who was trying to reach his revolver, and saw him being dragged to the area from where the first shots had come.

Remembering the shots, she glanced around and saw two guards still putting up a fight. One ran out of bullets and was instantly hit in the chest. He fell to the ground, joining the other six guards DG could see, and the other followed not long after.

She heard Cain shout her name one last time before she heard a metallic clang, then silence. One of the people above DG jammed something into her neck, something that pinched like a needle and made her brain go all fuzzy, and it kind of hurt where they poked her—Oh. It must be a needle, then. Except this shot made her go numb, unlike the ones she got at the doctor's office. Speaking of the doctor's office, she hadn't been there in a while. Had she visited in the last year? Maybe it was time for a checkup…

Once DG went unconscious and they'd accounted for all their people, the attackers loaded some stolen items into their packs, trekked to the portion of forest where they'd concealed their horses, and rode off.

* * *

DG wasn't sure if she was awake or not. The darkness that surrounded her was unnatural, so she thought it might be a dream, but she hadn't yet had a nightmare so bad that she was trussed up like a pig in it. Considering the memories of screams and shot men that echoed in her ears, DG felt fairly sure that she wanted it to just be a nightmare.

She didn't have any access to a clock, dark as it was, so she had no idea how long she stayed down there. With no window to show the cycle of the suns and the moon, the only way DG could tell how much time had passed since her capture was by her steadily increasing hunger and thirst.

Just about when DG decided her present situation was, regrettably, reality, a rectangular light appeared in one corner of her enclosure. After too long without light, it pained her eyes, and she flinched away. DG shut her watering eyes with the sudden shock of pain and then started violently when someone grabbed her. She kicked out with her tied legs blindly, instinctively, towards her attacked, feeling savagely grateful she could land a blow even when handicapped.

"None o' that, girl," a voice—it was high, but DG felt fairly certain it was male—told her. "I'm just takin' you upstairs. Or do you want t'stay down here for an extra day, like the baron wants?"

DG stopped struggling but remained silent, not giving him the courtesy of a response. Taking her pliance as tacit agreement to behave, the man heaved DG to her feet and began steering her towards the light. A door, DG realized, feeling foolish for not recognizing the shape. Then again, she should be allowed to be a little slow, after an unknown amount of time without food or water.

The trip up the stairs that came after the door would have been much more difficult without the man escorting her. He lifted some of the weight off her feet, so she could focus more on where to step than balancing herself to move. Part of her mind, the part indoctrinated in manners back in Kansas, told her she should be slightly grateful. Maybe this one wasn't so bad, and—

No, she told herself. To get out of here, when she eventually tried, would likely require her using her magic to blow the place or the guards to smithereens. She wouldn't have time to aim then, so no use trying to turn anyone to her side. It probably wouldn't work anyway.

He set DG down in a chair placed in front of a wide desk, in a room right off the stairwell. Minutes later, an older gentleman—well, she'd call him that if he wasn't so obviously involved in her imprisonment—took the plush chair behind the desk and looked at her, his gaze frankly curious.

"So you're the slipper princess, then?" he asked finally, tilting his head to the side.

DG glared sullenly at him. "Duh. What, did you think you had the wrong person?"

He smiled lightly. "No, I saw the wanted posters before you overthrew the Sorceress. I was the one who oversaw their printing, actually. But I've never seen you in person, and you are a tad underwhelming."

"I'm very sorry about that. Should I go home and freshen up first? I'll look all princessy then."

"Are you always this rude?" His eyes hardened a little, deepening from hazel to almost-brown.

"I try to stay rude whenever people kidnap me. Just a general rule I try to follow. I'm nicer at home," she said, shrugging against the rope that bound her wrists.

"Indeed. I assume you're unfamiliar with me?" DG only nodded, so he continued, "Then you haven't been to court since your return to the Outer Zone. I'm Baron Croge."

"Baron—So they were right. My mother figured there's some noble involved in this whole resistance thing," DG said defiantly, narrowing her eyes at the baron. "You know she'll find you soon, right? Thought you should know."

He laughed, shaking his head. "As far as she'll know, you're settled in rather happily at Finaqua, slightly bored but enjoying the fresh air. You're going to write her a letter telling her that."

DG snorted. "I'm not doing that. Are you kidding me?"

"Funny," Croge said. "I was under the impression you were fond of your pet Tin Man. More than fond, actually."

Something consolidated into a hard block in DG's chest, making it difficult to breathe for a few seconds. "Cain's alive?" she asked, eyes wide. She'd assumed the worst, considering the deaths of every other guard in her sight during the ambush.

"Of course. He's currently residing within the tin suit you felt near where we caught you. I can have Imer kill him, unless you're willing to write that letter."

DG swallowed. So Cain was alright, then, as long as his mind could survive intact through another term in a tin prison. Shoving away her doubts about that, she said, "I guess I have to, then. I'm going to need to use my hands to do that, though."

"Yes, I'm aware," Croge answered dryly. "You'll be untied when it's time to write. In the meantime…I can offer you the use of a bedroom on one of the upper floors here, if you remain cooperative. Otherwise you can return to the basement. It's your choice."

An upper floor might mean a window, she realized. There were more doors, anyway, and light to move around by. She stood a better chance of escaping in a normal room than in that basement, where the dark messed with her sense of reality. "I'll take the bedroom," she said, trying to appear as if she was accepting it against her pride. She let a small amount of pleading creep into her voice. "And I'll do the letter whenever you want me to. Just don't hurt Cain."

"I know you will," Croge said, standing. He placed his big hands flat on the desk and leaned towards her. "I'll call for you later today. I'd have you write it now, but there's a trial today at which the queen requires my presence."

The man who'd brought DG upstairs stepped forward at Croge's beckon and grabbed her shoulders. "Take her to the room on the fifth floor, Tomlin," Croge said, gesturing towards DG. "You'll get some dinner around seven, and I should return by eight. You can write your mother then."

"It's a date," DG shot back.

Seeing the look of startled anger on Croge's face was worth the roughness with which Tomlin marched her out of the room.

* * *

***feels mucho bad for Cain* I'm terribly sorry I stuck you back in the suit, bud...**

**And to everyone who was looking forward to fun times at Finaqua: I really liked that idea. I really, really did. But I couldn't see a way to get them there, let Cain and DG have a little fun, and then have her get captured. I'll keep it in mind for later, though... *evil grin***

**Reviewers will get cyber-glomped! Seriously, I love you guys (and your comments)!**

**~ange**


	6. Small Bit of Hope

***sings* I'm baaaaaack... Sorry for the delay, everyone, but here we go... I'll admit, this chapter is largely Glitch-Lavender-DG-centric, with not much from other characters in here. Next chapter will make up for that, hopefully.**

**I should probably disclaim.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tin Man. Comprenez-vous?**

**

* * *

**

_Dear Momsy and Popsicle,_

_Finaqua's great. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed the forests, which Cain is exploring with me. It takes up a bunch of time every day, which is good with all the other stuff we have to do here. I've been going to the lake to practice those magic exercises Tutor showed me, too. I miss you and Azkadellia and Ambrose, though. Hopefully Mr. Raw can join us at some point. Have fun in the city!_

_Love,_

_DG_

* * *

Glitch observed his queen's expression carefully as she read the letter DG had sent. Finally, after giving her time to read it at least twice, he asked, "Is DG not enjoying Finaqua, Your Majesty?"

Lavender frowned. "She says she is, but her tone is so sarcastic that she seems almost to be mocking me. Would you mind—" She extended the paper to her advisor.

"Well, you know DG!" Glitch said brightly as he accepted the letter and started reading. "She does tend towards the sarcastic—oh my." He glanced at Lavender. "She called you and the Lord Consort 'Momsy and Popsicle?'"

"Keep reading," Lavender said with a grimace.

"And she called me Ambrose and Az by her full name and—_Mr. Raw_?"

"Exactly. I don't know why she'd revert to such formalities."

Glitch opened his mouth, about to make another glib remark, and then stopped. The two halves of his newly-reunited brain were trying to tell him something, struggling to function cohesively to convey the thought, and then…

His neurotransmitters bridged the gap. "Something's wrong!" Glitch said cheerfully, overjoyed by the fact that his synapses had fired right for once.

The queen sent him a puzzled glance. _Royally puzzled_, he could have crowed, if he didn't then realize what he'd just realized.

"Uh-oh," Glitch said, sounding like a small child. "DG's in trouble, but she can't or won't say, so she said things she normally wouldn't in order to give us a clue and tip us off without appearing to," he babbled

"How do you know that?" Lavender looked skeptical, but still concerned.

"Something during the witch's reign…_no_…" The memory slipped away and faded. "I don't know, Your Majesty. But would DG ever call Tutor Tutor?"

Lavender stood quickly. "True. I'll alert the Central City Police, and you can…"

"May I run tests on this?" Glitch asked, holding up the letter.

"If it will help."

Glitch flew down to his laboratory.

* * *

About forty-five minutes later, Glitch managed to get the tank-machine responsive to magic, thanks largely to Azkadellia. Her memories of the time of her possession were all too vivid, and her familiarity with the machine proved invaluable.

"Ready to hit it with magic, Azkadee?" Glitch asked, tipping the powdered remains of part of the letter into the tank, where they swirled about in the fluid. He'd snipped out DG's signature because it seemed likely to contain the most of her.

"Yes." Az placed both hands on the tank. "How will you be able to see it?"

Glitch's mouth curved downward in a rare wry expression. "Half my brain spent many years in a tank like this. I'm willing to bet it'll recognize the tank better than anyone else's mind, so hopefully I'll see something useful." He mimicked Azkadellia's position, putting his big hands over the tank's glass.

Light glowed beneath Az's fingertips, and Glitch's mind shut down to fill with the magic from the letter.

—_darkness for so long, and fear of the others and oh God, where's Cain?_

_There's a flash to a tin suit, sitting in a starkly remembered clearing, the pain lingering there from its former occupant. Now Cain's stuck in there again, and she's stuck here, though at least she's in a nicer room now and not that pit of a basement downstairs._

_She shudders, because she's kind of cold and would like to go to the window for sunlight's warmth, but the guards won't let her. Instead she gazes longingly at the far-off western spire of the palace, where home's so close but impossible to reach._

_And she signs her name to the letter with a small hope that someone will come for her. That small bit of hope's enough for now, because that's all DG's ever needed, just a little more hope to keep on going… —_

The memory's power, strengthened by exposure to magic, released Glitch as soon as it ended. He forced his eyes open and, to his dismay, saw the fragments of the letter were no longer swirling about in the tank.

"Glitch, are you well?" Somehow he had ended up on the floor—had he fallen?—and however he got there, Az hovered over him, her pale beautiful face worried.

"I should be fine, Azkadee," he replied, though he felt as though someone had recently taken a hammer to the spot behind his eyes.

"What did you see?" Her nearly-black eyes were frankly curious, tinged with omnipresent concern for her sister's well-being.

"Lots of things." Glitch hauled himself to his feet using the edge of his workbench. "Right now, I need to see the queen."

* * *

Lavender's eyes clouded with hope as Glitch burst into her office with Azkadellia and an outraged royal guardsman trailing behind. "You know where she is?"

"Not yet, Your Majesty, but I have a clearer idea. She's in the western part of the city, in a building that has at least three floors but possibly more, and she's at least ten blocks out from the palace."

"She's in Central City?" The queen's face went blank, then looked mildly horrified.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Glitch asked, not liking the look on his ruler's face.

"I've already sent the army out to search the roads to Finaqua," Lavender admitted, supporting her chin on the palm of her hand. "I can contact them and tell them to return to the city to assist the police in their search, but it will waste time we don't have." She stood and had already reached the door before Glitch thought of something.

"Wait! The army kept the locations of every tin suit they unlocked, didn't they?" Glitch called, turning to stop the queen.

Lavender frowned. "They did, but I fail to see how that will aid in my daughter's rescue."

Rushing to appease Lavender, Glitch explained, "One of the things I saw from the letter was that Cain's in one of the suits along the road. I know it'll take the army a little time to get him out, but I'd want Cain helping look for DG. He'll find her."

Lavender hesitated with her hand on the door handle. "I will tell them to fetch Mr. Cain," she agreed at length. "In the meantime, try to find out more about who took DG."

Sweeping a bow, Glitch murmured, "As you wish."

* * *

DG glared at the immense guard blocking the door. "Move it, Tiny, or the princess is going to get even more pissy." _Would that be 'pissier?'_ she wondered idly.

The really big guard glanced at the other one, who was distinguished by his small size and heavy accent, and didn't move.

"I need to use the bathroom, dammit!"

"Then I will ask the baron if you may," the accented guard replied smoothly, and slipped out the door.

DG resumed glaring at the guard she'd dubbed Tiny until the accented one returned.

"The baron says no. Also, we're returning you to the basement."

"Why?" DG complained as both guards took an arm and began marching her out of the room. She hadn't expected her bathroom ploy to work, but she'd had to try. "He said I'd only have to go back if I tried any monkey business!"

As always, the accented one answered her. DG was starting to understand that Tiny was big in size but not on words. "Your _mother_ has her guards and police searching the city. The baron suspects you must have hinted of your distress somehow to her through your letter."

DG felt a rush off triumph. So they'd picked up on the forced tone of the letter, after all. Good for them. "Okay, Connery, take me down. Turn on the light this time, won't you?"

This time, both Tiny and Connery were silent. DG figured they wouldn't be turning on the light.

"He'll be staying in here with you, to make sure you don't try to get out," Connery said, nodding at Tiny as he released her to push her through the door. Not one to question a free opportunity, DG whipped her newly-freed fist around and connected with the bend in Connery's jaw just below his ear. Only Tiny wrenching her other arm around stopped DG from continuing to assault the guards.

"Behave yourself or he'll make you," Connery spat, rubbing the spot where she'd decked him. DG was too distracted by the sharp stretching ache in her arm to really pay attention to his words. While she wasn't putting up any resistance, Tiny walked through the door, towing her along. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs the door shut.

Instantly, DG put as much distance between herself and Tiny as she could, tearing out of his grasp and jogging blindly until she thunked into a wall. Despite her efforts, she heard Tiny's footsteps nearby, so she began creeping along the wall, trying to get away. She had her head turned away from where she knew Tiny was, subscribing to the naïve childhood belief: Don't look at the monster, and it won't see you…

Of course, she had no proof that Tiny was actually going to hurt her. DG was only operating on her female instincts, the ones that added a big man and a dark area and her unprotected self together and screamed, _Get the hell out of here_.

Really, Tiny could in actuality be a perfect gentleman who happened to be tasked with guarding the princess in the dark.

Yeah, and that was why he was working for an evil baron bent on bringing down the royal family. DG thought she had a right to be scared of Tiny, given all that.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped. DG didn't hear them for what must have been an hour, but she doubted he would stand in place for that long.

…Which meant Tiny could move silently.

Damn.

Couldn't he at least be a mouth-breather? Then DG would have _some_ indication of his location. But no, that would be too easy. DG was definitely scared now.

She decided to keep moving around the room, because it was likely that Tiny was moving too and she didn't want to sit in a corner and wait for him to find her. Besides, planning where to move might distract her from her fear of the monster in the dark.

DG hoped the police would get there soon.

* * *

Glitch was sifting through Lord Becklie's thoughts now, searching for any indication of who killed him. It seemed likely that the people from the resistance group that assassinated the young lord might be involved with DG's kidnapping, if it really was the same group. Honestly, if it wasn't the same group, he had no idea where to look.

—_"Lord Becklie!"_

_Becklie turned, a friendly smile already forming on his lips. "Baron Croge!" he cried, bowing to the older man. "I'd not expected to see you so soon upon my arrival, but I'm glad it happened so soon. And who is this?"_

_"My niece, Arianna," the baron said, ushering the young woman forward. "It's her nineteenth birthday, so I allowed her to come to the ball. Normally she doesn't get to come to those with an invitation of myself 'and family.'" Croge chuckled fondly._

_"It is a pleasure to meet you then," Becklie said, kissing Arianna's hand. "You live with your uncle?"_

_"Only for the past year. My parents moved back to the country, while I wished to remain in Central City. Uncle kindly took me in," she explained, smiling._

_"Have you been to court since your return to the city?" Croge inquired._

_"Not as of yet. I'm due there tomorrow." Becklie paused, then added, "I'm slightly apprehensive, as it's my first time. My father didn't take me before he died."_

_"Well then, I'll have to introduce you! Don't worry; most of the others are bores, so there are only a few you should meet," Croge confided, steering Becklie off to meet a few other nobles. "You'll be alright, Arianna, won't you?"_

_"Yes, Uncle," she said, but her gloved hands were trembling and she almost spilled her champagne onto her lavender gown. Becklie smiled charmingly at her before Croge whisked him off, and the smile called a matching one to her face and stopped her hands from shaking.—_

Glitch noted the names of everyone Becklie met, all the earls and duchesses and other lords and even Croge's niece Arianna. When he was done writing down everyone from that memory, he poured in another few milliliters of the 'Becklie soup', as DG had so colorfully called it, and started in on another set of memories.

—_"But—Imer, you can't, please—"_

_"I can and I'm going to," the man with the graying hair and beard said. His eyes were a surprisingly pleasant blue. "You signed away your life when you swore allegiance to the Gales."_

_"They're __**royals**__! I had to swear loyalty—my family has always upheld our loyalty to the Gales, always publicly, no matter the political climate. I've always remained loyal to them."_

_"And that family loyalty is getting this Becklie killed," Imer said calmly, aiming his gun exactly for the spot between Becklie's eyes. "My employer likes you, apart from the whole Gale loyalty fiasco, so I'm just going to shoot you quick. No worries."_

_"You're not going to hurt my wife, are you?" Becklie asked frantically, stepping towards Imer._

_Imer snorted. "You kidding? That would be ridiculous."_

_"Tell her I love her—tell Arianna I love her—"_

_Imer's bullet cut him off.—_

Glitch fell out of the memory gasping, as though he was the one who'd been shot. Yanking his hands away from the tank, he stumbled over to a stool and perched himself upon it. He stared at the list of names and then pulled out a map of Central City.

Now if he could find a copy of in-city residences for the nobles of the court…

"Azkadellia!"

* * *

"Have you found anything, Ambrose?" Lavender looked as though she needed to hear some good news. Though she always managed to look fresh, the act was fading at the edges after too long without signs of DG.

Glitch flung his list down on her desk, grinning broadly. "I may have. These nobles own property in the western portion of the city, at the given addresses, and I think it's fairly probably that DG will be at one of these residences."

"I'll get the search teams organized. It helps that the army's arrived," Lavender said. "Thank you, Ambrose."

"Which residences?"

Both the queen and her advisor turned towards the door to see a muddy, metallic Cain. His blue eyes looked more focused than Glitch had ever seen, with the ice in them more pronounced.

Glitch grinned. "Ready to go save the princess, Tin Man?"

* * *

**Yay Cain's back... We'll see about his mental state next chapter, though. Next one shouldn't take as long to post, don't worry!**

**~ange**


	7. Asking for Trouble

**Sorry for keeping you guys waiting for this chapter for so long...Inexcusable wait is inexcusable, I know. But there's probably only going to be one more chapter after this one, and I'll get it written and posted as soon as I can. In the meantime, here you go!**

* * *

In the end, DG _did_ end up sitting in a corner, though she didn't plan on being there long enough for Tiny to find her. Of course, that also depended on her ability to stop herself from glowing as she sat there.

DG clamped down almost violently on the usual mentality of magic-as-light this time, attempting to focus it through the latent energy fizzling under her skin. Before, she'd been too weak or too closely watched to make a serious attempt at her magic, but with the complete darkness she could work entirely without hindrance as long as she kept the light under control.

She plucked gently at the hum, allowing it to use her body as a tuning fork to direct the flow of magic as it grew. Unfamiliar as she was with the technique, she didn't expect it to work the first time—and it didn't. DG kept plugging at it, cursing the fact that she had to work around her inexperience with her generally weak magic—it was great for short, solid, ridiculously powerful bursts, as she'd found out with the Witch, but she couldn't sustain the more powerful magic for any significant length of time.

Couldn't sustain the more powerful magic _yet_, Toto insisted at every lesson. He kept her improving on basic skills until she possessed enough control to wield the powerful, more destructive types of magic that would allow her to manipulate large or living objects. That and self-defensive types of magic, which would have been really_ really_ useful right then. Even without it, DG could get creative, provided she got out of the basement.

Eventually, her effort raised the volume of the contained magic until she heard it as a loud buzz in her ears. DG sent some of it flowing out of her, picturing sound waves instead of light in a way that seemed to function the same as in lessons. With it, she identified the objects in the darkened room with the trick Toto said was exceptionally useful for finding edible plants while on the road.

Her basement scan revealed an unsurprisingly empty room that held only a few crates—which she'd already discovered with her shin on her way to the corner—and a large man in the mid-left section. Factoring in the placement of the stairs, DG focused on the way the crates felt to her mind and slowly raised one, noting its large weight with grim glee. At least it would make this easier. Hopefully.

DG took care to maneuver it so it stayed properly positioned over Tiny's head, than gave it a shove downwards with her magic. Considering her awkwardness with objects of that size—the crate wasn't terribly heavy, but it was on the upper end of her abilities to move it around—it didn't drop straight down, but at least it hit Tiny hard enough to knock him out briefly.

With the position of the stairs firmly in her mind, she navigated the uneven floor until she bumped into the bottom step. She edged up carefully until she found herself against a door, which didn't seem that cold to the touch. So it wasn't made of metal…seriously? They didn't think enough of her to at least put her behind a metal door or something? A door made of wood was just _asking_ for trouble.

DG obliged, and brought trouble.

The wood smoked and burned away under her touch, letting her grab the door handle out of the circle she'd burned around it. Once she opened the door, she used her magic to chuck the handle at the guard on the other side, soundly clocking him on the forehead. It didn't knock him out as well as the crate did to Tiny, but it gave him a big mark on his forehead and gave DG the chance to bolt.

Of course, bolting was difficult after being held in varying states of comfort for—well, honestly, she didn't know how long. Being knocked out and being in the basement room had messed with DG's sense of time, so she could have been gone for anywhere from several hours to over a day. Either way, she was considering adding a physical training part to her magic and politics lessons, even if it only came in handy in the rare situation like this one. Being able to escape effectively was always a priority.

She happened upon a pair of men in the next hallway she turned onto, and when they started towards her she yanked some heavy candleholders off the wall with her magic. Time to get creative.

* * *

Cain glanced out the open side of the cart, gauging the merits of the upcoming residence as a holding center for a resourceful princess. Hell, she'd broken out of the Witch's own _prison_ once, so anything that would hold her for any amount of time would have to have considerable strengths in terms of size, floor plan, available spaces, privacy from neighbors, and a dozen other factors. This one definitely didn't have much going for it, but even though he didn't think it was likely, his squad still had to search it on the off chance that the owner was involved with DG in some way.

The cart stopped in front of the townhouse—it was small for a noble's home, but still too enormous to be called a townhouse, in Cain's opinion—and let off the squad of a dozen mixed Royal Guardsmen, soldiers, and police. There were fifteen similar squads currently combing through other homes in the city, trying to find the noble holding DG, and the queen hoped the search would turn up DG's location.

He remembered a conversation he'd had once with DG, where they had discussed the differences between the Central City Police and their counterparts on the Other Side. Some of the things she'd mentioned were the rights that the citizens because they belonged to a democracy, including legal permission to search someone's house. Cain was particularly grateful that they didn't have to go through a time-wasting process like that in the O.Z. He'd already wasted enough time stuck in the suit again, unable to get out and tell someone, unable to even _breathe_ from the memories choking him…

Cain's mouth tightened into a hard line as he re-checked his gun, shoving thoughts of the suit away. He was trained to push trauma like that to the side until he'd accomplished his objective, at which point he could deal with it as needed. Going catatonic at the present moment wouldn't help find DG. His only concern was finding her, and since Tin Men were known for taking any necessary measures to complete a given task, he would force himself to stay functioning.

One of the soldiers informed him that the squad was stationed around the building. "We're ready to go in through all entrances, sir," he said.

Cain nodded and gripped his revolver more tightly, preparing to enter. "Do it, lieutenant."

Exactly five seconds later, the squad burst through all the doors on the ground floor.

* * *

DG had always hated corn mazes as a child. Every time Hank and Emily took her to one, she usually tried cutting through the corn every chance she got, so her foster parents stopped taking her once she turned eleven.

Croge's house was worse than a corn maze—she couldn't cut through walls, it had multiple levels, and any given hallway could have several hired guards in it. It was also annoying that in theory, she only had to get to any external door, bust out, and get back to the palace grounds to be safe. But Croge had hired lots of guards to make sure the kidnapping job was done right, and since they seemed to be hanging around his house, DG was having difficulty getting to a door.

After finding that even the servants' door was covered by four guards, DG snuck upstairs. Since she only had a small reserve of magic remaining, she didn't want to waste it dealing with guards, if possible. She could settle for jumping out a window, preferably one with a roof next door at a similar height. Once upstairs, DG started towards the first window she saw that would work.

A hand yanked at her hair from behind, putting her off-balance enough to fall on her back, head towards her attacker. DG caught a glimpse of a tall woman with cropped blonde hair hovering over her, angling in for an incapacitating blow. She quickly swiveled away and used what magic she had left to fling a tapestry at the woman. Ducking out of the way, she got to her feet and ran towards the window while the woman struggled to get untangled from the tapestry.

DG tugged hard on the window sash, not bothering to waste time looking back at the woman. It gave easily, allowing DG to vault out of it and across to the next roof—definitely a benefit of being in a city as opposed to farmland. The drop wasn't too far down, but it still hurt DG's knees when she hit the roof and, after a few shaky steps, started jogging. She knew the blonde woman would be close behind and probably sounding an alarm, considering the efficiency of the rest of Croge's employees.

Fortunately, the magic sessions with Tutor that she'd skipped out on had mostly been spent exploring the city, before the disaster with Becklie meant she had to stay inside the palace. It took only a few blocks to enter an area she was mildly familiar with, and another sixteen until she saw two Royal Guardsmen standing outside an ornate townhouse.

"Hey, you two!" she shouted, crossing the street to them. Once they saw her, one ran into the house behind him, while the other led her to a large transport truck and had her sit in one of the back seats.

"It's Baron Croge who had Lord Becklie killed, and me kidnapped, and organized that resistance group. Can I get some water?"

The guardsman passed a flask to her. "Where were you held, Princess? At his residence?"

"Yeah, but he has lots of security people there. There have to be at least thirty." DG gulped down some water, grateful for the drink after her run. "Has his group done anything since I've been gone?"

"No, Highness. We haven't heard anything more from them, but the queen sent us and the CCP and some soldiers in groups to search for you." One of the back doors to the truck opened, and the guardsman rose to his feet, pistol ready until he saw that it was the rest of the squad. They filled in around DG, and one gave orders to the driver to return to the palace immediately.

As the driver started up the truck, DG climbed over the divider and into the passenger seat, placing one hand on the gearshift. "We're going to wait on the palace, understand? Head to the Croge house on Zixi Street. Can you get another squad to meet us there?"

"Your Highness, General Perkan said if we found you, our first priority is to get you back to the palace, and deal with the Resistance once you're safe," objected the guardsman whose flask she held.

"Royal orders supersede military orders, Guardsman…"

He deflated a bit. "Lan, Highness."

"Guardsman Lan. We're going to the Croge house _now_. Since you answer directly to the royal family, those are your new orders."

"Acknowledged. Zixi Street," the guardsman told the driver, who started up the truck and made the turn for Zixi without complaint.

* * *

"Sir, no sign of illegal activity," the soldier in charge reported. Cain's scowl deepened, and he shoved off the wall to his full height.

"Next residence," he ordered briskly, walking out the door and approaching the cab of the military truck. The driver unconsciously straightened in his seat as Cain approached, one of the effects of being around the simmering Tin Man for too many hours. "Load up!" Cain shouted at the soldiers filing out of the house, who quickened their pace in response.

The driver consulted the grid sheet that General Perkan had prepared, looking for the next search location. "Zixi Street's only two blocks away, sir," he offered, putting the sheet down and pulling away from the curb. He hoped the report might reduce some of Cain's visible irritation at the lack of results so far. "We should be there in only a minute."

"Good." Cain checked his revolver once more to stave off the fear building in him. He needed this fiasco to end, needed to find DG, needed her _safe_. That had been his primary goal since her initial arrival in the OZ, and he'd been pretty damn good at it until the ambush happened.

He knew his stubbornness would find him DG eventually, but he wanted her to be unharmed when he did.

* * *

There was already another truck outside Croge's residence when DG's truck arrived, and she could hear shouting and occasional gunfire from inside. As guardsmen poured out of the back of the truck, Lan turned to her and ordered, "Highness, stay here. Don't leave the truck."

"But I know the layout—"

"But you'd still be a liability, since you're not trained for combat and we'd have to fight at the same time as keeping you safe. Understand?"

As much as she hated it, he had a point. "Got it. I'll behave," she agreed grudgingly.

"Thank you, Princess." Lan saluted and jogged off.

DG watched as the squad of guardsmen entered through the front entrance and the servants' door, adding more gunfire to the noise coming from inside. The two squads inside would be able to take the resistance put up by Croge's men, she knew, especially since she had taken out a few guards during her escape. God, she just wanted this over—

The door to the servants' entrance flew open, and the blonde-haired woman from earlier darted out into the alley behind the townhouse. DG was out of the truck before she even thought about it, because the soldiers who came running out after her were too bulky and slow to have a chance of catching the woman. Yes, she had agreed to stay in the truck, but she had a chance of actually helping this way.

Her legs began to burn as soon as her speed increased past a jog, a nasty reminder that she'd physically overdone it during her earlier run. DG was still fast enough to pass the soldiers in pursuit, even though her legs hurt and she hadn't properly eaten since her kidnapping, which combined to make her a little lightheaded. Even with the handicap, DG was able to struggle on and catch up to the blonde woman—as fast as she was, she still wasn't as fast as the pigs on the farm in Kansas. DG took a few extra-fast steps, then grabbed the back of the woman's shirt and tackled her to the ground, holding her there for close to a minute.

The woman tried to roll as soon as she hit the ground, eventually evading DG's grasp enough that she was able to clumsily stand. Only a few steps later, one of the soldiers caught up with her and caught her in a more secure grip, pulling out a pair of handcuffs and restraining her.

DG rolled onto her back, panting hard and trying to regain her breath. "Thanks for that," she gasped at the arresting soldier, then winced. In addition to her rapidly cramping legs, her entire ribcage felt flattened from her dive to the ground.

The other soldier, a young-looking sergeant, held out a hand and helped her to her feet. "I'll take you back to the healing ward at the palace, Highness. Healer Raw is waiting for you, I've heard."

"Sounds great," DG replied, feeling increasingly woozy as her vision struggled to right itself. Once the view of the alley settled into place, she started walking towards the trucks parked outside Croge's house. When she got there, she was glad to see the back of one truck filled with Croge and several of his associates.

Guardsman Lan stood by the cab of the other truck, obviously berating the driver, until DG reached the passenger side. "You agreed to stay—"

"DG."

She turned and saw Cain limping towards her, left arm held tight to his side and right hand occupied by his ever-present revolver. He shoved it into its holster and grabbed her in a tight, one-armed embrace, breathing shakily for only a minute as he assured himself that she wasn't seriously harmed. DG leaned against him and hugged him loosely so she didn't disturb his left arm, relieved that he was out of the suit. The hug was great, too, because she felt fairly certain that her legs were about to stage a rebellion and stop supporting her weight at any moment.

"You're okay, right, sweetheart?" Cain murmured into her hair.

DG nodded and pulled away slightly to pluck at the fabric covering his left arm. "Of course I am. What happened to you, Tin Man?"

He shrugged halfheartedly, trying to pass it off as unimportant. "Dangers of leading point into a hostile room. You didn't think I repelled weapons, did you?"

"Not really, but Glitch says you came pretty close to it on the Northern Island." DG moved away from Cain, stepping towards the truck that held the other squads. "Come on—I want to get home, and I know you'll need that arm looked at. Ride with me?" she asked, opening the truck door.

Cain snorted as she slid into the middle of the bench seat. "Princess, I'm going on permanent guard duty for you effective immediately. Car rides are going to be the least of your worries."

* * *

**Presents go to those who get the obscure Oz reference! **

**~ange**


	8. Epilogue

**IDEK, have an epilogue to wrap things up here, guys. My apologies to the readers who have added this to their alerts/favorites and had to wait forever for a conclusion, but in case anyone couldn't tell, I've been out of Tin Man fandom for more than a year and a half now. This is my last contribution to this fandom, so goodbye and thanks for reading/reviewing/favoriting this along the way.**

* * *

DG hummed idly to herself as she laid out on the grass by the lake of Finaqua, taking in the sun after even more weeks spent inside. After several days being shuffled between the medical wing and the conference room of the palace, where she delivered her official statement to the Central City Police and a small military tribunal, she was finally left in peace, getting a few spare hours to herself. Fortunately, her emotional state after her imprisonment reflected her physical state – DG understood why the doctors at the palace prepared for a variable spectrum of mental trauma, but figuring out the townhouse's weaknesses had given her a focus to draw herself together around. Mostly, she just felt exhausted afterwards.

Az had been helpful beyond belief in providing company while retreating into the background of DG's room, fulfilling her need to not be alone while avoiding the smothering attitude their parents had adopted. In the days between her account and the end of the trial, DG largely kept to her room, enjoying the feeling of staying in one spot for more than a few hours without feeling confined. She gave Az a few drawing lessons when she felt like talking to someone else, practiced her magic when she didn't, and kept her mind off the implications that the force she'd seen during the city raid had for the trial's verdict.

A pulse of angry energy curled out of her palm and scorched a stray dandelion set among the grass. Refusing to feel regret over a goddamn _dandelion_, of all things, DG forced her mind away from her opinion of the outdated modes of punishment employed by the O.Z.'s military courts. She'd gone to the public hangings of the opposition's leaders and assassins, despite the churning sense of wrongness at the so-called justice. Maybe if she'd been raised in the O.Z., she wouldn't object on such a fundamental level, but hanging? Seemed a bit overboard, even for the generally old-fashioned customs she'd thought she was adjusting to. As much as she'd hated the Resistance movement, she'd hated seeing their motionless bodies swaying in the wind even more.

As her thoughts gradually calmed, the energy heating the air emanating from her hand dissipated and turned into a gentle gust that rolled across the grass above the narrow beach that sloped into the lake. The power grew and developed into a full breeze, cooling her sun-warmed face as she tilted her head back again and closed her eyes, enjoying being fully alone for the first time since that basement.

Almost as soon as she realized she'd been actively reveling in the solitude instead of feeling mildly anxious about it, a rough-skinned hand covered hers where it laid next to her on the grass. DG grinned and stretched, keeping her eyes closed and allowing a small flare of pride for not jumping at the unexpected touch. "What're you doing here, Tin Man?" she mumbled, words slurring together from her sun-induced lethargy.

"Had enough of watching from a distance for today," came the reply. DG's eyes opened in a squint in order to glance up at Cain's careful positioning next to her, and when she realized he wasn't joking, she levered her body up into an easy sprawl.

"I looked around earlier and didn't see you, you ninja," she said affectionately, leaning against him slightly. Cain's fingers twitched atop hers, and when DG looked, she saw his mouth matching the movement with a small amount of good humor. "So are you enjoying the vacation that's _actually_ happening this time?"

Cain let out a noncommittal grunt. "Like I can ever really take a vacation when you're around, kid. If you really wanted me to have a break, you'd stop getting into trouble so often."

Spreading her arms wide to indicate the otherwise silent stretch of grass behind the magical bubble her mother had installed around Finaqua, DG asked, "Have I gotten into any trouble since we got here? _No_, I haven't, and that's because I've had enough excitement for at least another week. Until I get bored, I'll stick to exploring the castle and hanging around the grounds, thank you very much. It'd do you good to do the same."

"You're just relaxing, are you? What's your Tutor got to say about that?"

DG rolled her eyes. "You know I'm practicing outside of lessons. Nobody has to force me to put the time in anymore, okay?"

Satisfied with her answer, Cain nodded. "Good to hear you're sticking with that mindset. You can take care of yourself in most areas, and the magic'll help with the rest. I can teach you all the self-defense in the world, but if you can keep that edge over everyone else you'll be set."

"Was it Toto or Az who told you to tell me that?" DG mused, suspicious of his newfound total support for her magic. "You'd never make that long of a speech on your own. Or maybe it was Ahamo?"

"Very funny," Cain grumbled, bracing his arm more fully against the grass to support his body. Pleased to see him relaxing even the slightest bit, DG suddenly grinned, sharp and bright against the dull detachment she'd felt from most things recently. Back at the Central City palace, she couldn't heal like she could here, where it felt more like Kansas with its open areas and pervading sense of normalcy. Finaqua reminded DG of home in the most fundamental way of feeling possible.

"You bet," she said, and leaned in to give Cain a brief, drowsy kiss. "Now, since I did some practicing earlier and am going to do some more later, I'm going to sunbathe and nap for a little while longer. Let the security detail actually on duty do their job, will you?"

"Guess they're getting paid for a reason," she heard from above her as she settled back into her patch of grass. Cain shifted beside her, adopting a reclining position. Close enough.

"That's the spirit," she encouraged him, eyes closed, looping an arm around his neck and using his stomach as a pillow. Well. If he wasn't going to relax all the way, she'd just have to keep working on him, wouldn't she? And as long as she got to stay at Finaqua, she'd have plenty of time to try.


End file.
